McCollum AutoTech students win awards at state competition

McCollum High School Automotive and Technology students in Mr. Mark Emmons' class brought home awards after competing in the Skills USA State Competition in Corpus Christi April 5 – 8.

As part of the competition, there was a five person engine team that completely disassembled, cleaned, photographed, documented and reassembled an automotive engine. Once complete, the students put their engine on display with a progress binder. After winning first place at the Skills USA Texas District 11 Leadership and Skill Conference back in January, the team perfected their project and won first place once again in the engine rebuild category at the state competition. The five person team is composed of Stephen Saenz, Devin Hernandez, Oscar Gonzales, Enrique Castillo III and Esteban Montoya.

Three individual students entered their brake caliper in the Automotive Brake Component competition. They disassembled, cleaned, sand blasted, honed, photographed, documented and reassembled an automotive brake caliper assembly with new seals. Once complete, they put their caliper on display with a progress binder. The students earned perfect scores at the district competition and earned second place at state. The three individual students are Fernando Ortiz, Jared Villarreal and Joshua Rodriguez.

Through the experience, the students learned the importance of time management, team work and resourcefulness.